The story of Villa Smeralda: a holiday villa in Sardinia
“Antonio, can you tell me what Sardinian wine should i open tonight? It should go well with red meat. Most importantly I want it to make me emotional so that my memory, of once I carried a couple of bottles with me in Bavaria, takes me back here, in Portobello di Gallura. I would like to, by drinking that wine, see that sunset once again, smell the scents of the typical Sardinian cuisine, the friendly company, the sound of the waves when the mistral wind, that travelled so long from the Gulf of Lion, arrives at the Sardinian granite cliffs and make the marine roses dance.’’
Mark, a professional living in Munich, called me for this simple advice. He reserved villa Smeralda for himself and his family, a property that has been managed by Sardinia Unlimited for over a decade. Mark is one of our legacy clients. We’ve assisted him for over a decade. He usually books a holiday in Sardinia twice a year and, if it’s available, he would like to spend the two holidays in different locations.
Although, he often likes to return to villas by the sea that he already visited in order to better appreciate all the improvements made during the years. Or maybe, he simply wants to see his kids in the same pool with the same sea view just to hear them say “Ich hatte sie älter in Erinnerung”. When you’re young you remember everything bigger. Football pitches, Tennis courts, Trees you used to climb and granite cliffs from where, unconscious of the danger, we all used to jump off and dive down clumsily to have fun.
Once, in another villa, Villa Brandinchi at Capo Coda Cavallo, Mark insisted that my older daughter Maria Amelie and I stay at the villa by the pool so that the kids could play together. On that occasion, Peter, Mark’s second-born child, managed to stay underwater for more than two minutes thanks to a few relaxing techniques that I showed him.
Villa Brandinchi has got a dominant position over Salina Bamba: can see the bay and the island of Tavolara. If you climb to the top of the granite rock next to the veranda, you can admire the Spalmatore di Terra (Land Spreader), Punta Don Diego and the always-busy Molara pools. Mark is a traveller, like any other german.
One evening I said: ‘’You tourists are victims to the way we make business on the island. At times I feel bad for you when I see you in restaurants where they serve you microwaved pork’’. He looked at me sideways and you know why? I called him a ‘’tourist’’. He pulled out his old MacBook and started to show me pictures of him at Tavolara, at Punta Cannone. He stayed over a week on the island. He decided to take the best photos that captured the beauty of the sea. In addition, photos of him cycling at Ulussai and rock-climbing in Ogliastra, scuba-diving in Capo Testa and witnessing the sight of giant groupers, hitch-hiking and taking public means.
That time he asked me about the wine, in Portobello di Gallura, that was the first time Mark thought about renting a villa in Sardinia with pool with Sardinia Unlimited. I still remember his first mail:
‘’Good morning, we are a family in Munich. We’d like to rent a villa for rent in Sardegna, especially in the northeast of your splendid island. As of now, we’ve explored Sardinia for several years in a Mercedes Unimog camper van. We are travellers that, after building a family, are seeking comfort. It would be ideal to be close to the beach, a pool and a space to cook on a barbeque with friends. Those same friends stayed at one of your villas last year and recommended contacting you. My wife and I are professionals and are very flexible about the duration of our stay. A two weeks stay would be optimal. In the first week, we plan to be a couple and three children. In the second week, we are being visited by another couple with a toddler or 10 months from Paris. We will eventually need a cradle.’’
It was May 2011 when Mark wrote down those lines. At the time we managed fewer villas and especially in Costa Paradiso. Unfortunately, I already knew that we couldn’t meet his request. So I took a look at the daybook of reservations. Villas with requested features, as was expected, were not available. I told Mark that I would do the impossible to satisfy his request. As usual, I fondly thought about his request in the next few days and started to identify the client. I imagined Mark driving his Unimog off-road, dirt roads like the sandy ones in Piscinas and the leaden-argentiferous roads of Lampianu and northwest in Porto Palmas.
One morning, I was supervising the works in the new pool in Santa Teresa di Gallura, Enrica calls me, a property owner that’s been with us for a year. She’s from Milan and she’s brilliant. Over the years she diversified her patrimony reserving several resources for the real estate sector. She chose to diversify in this market. She hates wasting time. Does not bear when people compliment her and is more than happy if, once it’s time to dine at her house, you decide not to stay. She admitted it several times, adding that it’s hard to do so with Sardinian people.
‘’Antonio, listen, I met you last year and I’m very pleased with our honest and fruitful collaboration. I like how you manage my villa in Costa Paradiso and the customers you attract. The profit is also satisfactory. What I can not stand anymore is the attitude of the real estate agency that manages my villa in Portobello di Gallura. They turned out to be shockingly incompetent. Can we meet? Are you in the area at the moment? I would like to give you the management of that villa if you are interested.’’
The application of the vinyl liner for the new pool is almost done. The last weldings are in progress. The workers are really experienced. The sun is still high in the Baia di Santa Reparata. Back then I was very knowledgeable of Portobello di Gallura, but not as informed as of now, obviously. The village is part of the municipality of Aglientu. I adore this area. Aglientu offers large beaches, marvellous, usually exposed northwest. Vignola, Cala Pischina, Rena Majore, Rena di Matteu and Lu Litarroni. They are wild, thin sand, pinewood, surrounding junipers, and pristine areas, such as the promontory of Monti Russu and the beach of Piana.
Driving past Cala Pischina, where wind-surfers always struggled to accept kiters, I think about eating a sandwich from the food truck of Giovanni Suelzu. Busy as usual. The sausage is excellent. Less excellent is Giovanni’s attitude. I leave the bike on the side of the road, in front of an old light-blue Volkswagen T2 with kitesurf directional boards and small-sized sails. It’s a sign that makes me realise that the wind is about to change and blow from the west. The beach of Marina Delle Rose is close by. It is a true spectacle when the wind blows from the west or northwest. Producing aggressive and chaotic waves. When it blows at 50 mph, the first 200 meters of shoreline are completely white.
I order the sandwich. Sit at the table next to a couple with a daughter of one year. It does not take long to realise they are the owners of the T2. I exchange a couple of words with them, eat the food and say bye to Giovanni that, as usual, doesn’t reply. After 15 minutes, I am at the entrance of the residential building of Portobello di Gallura. Antonio, the usher at the west entrance, greets me and asks how I am in his usual friendly mood. The village is well kept, the roads are clean and tidy, the bushes well trimmed. On the left, beyond the entrance, tennis courts. I overtake two golf carts driven by two youngsters dressed in linen and long hair slightly burned by the sun of a long spring break. I drive beyond the intersection that leads to the square, singular in the village.
Every time I come back here I can't help but think about Fabrizio de Andrè and his song written in the warehouse of Agnata, in Tempio, after he visited here, Portobello, and argued with diners. While I daydream, distracted, I go beyond the road I should have taken. I firmly hit the break with my right foot, and the rear wheel of my Triumph stops, I almost fall off, while a gardener sees me and put his hands on his head smiling. I take off the helmet and I hear Enrica’s voice ‘’Antonio! leave that metalware and come over here! We’ve been waiting for you for 10 minutes under the sun.
I tie the helmet to a strawberry tree and walk the 50 meters that divided us. She’s wearing a big ochre hat and a young Golden Retriever on a leash. Medium tan and permanently well-dressed, Enrica opens a small wooden gate and with a proud hand gesture says: ‘’Antonio, this is Villa Smeralda. Make sure that your guests, as usual, feel at home.’’ She shakes my hand. ‘’We will meet in October to show you the financial statement and performance of your asset. The profit will be utilised to improve the property. Air conditioning system and a new master bedroom exploiting the norms of ‘’house plan Sardinia’’.
Walking the same 50 meters back to the motorcycle I call Mark. No one answered but the answering machine so I leave a voice message: ‘’Mark! I’ve found the villa in Sardinia for you. Pool with sea view, close to the beach, veranda, barbeque area, and nearby facilities. The villa can accommodate up to 12 people. Therefore, you can invite more friends. Can’t wait to hear from you. Bye! See you later!’’
Villa Smeralda is now one of the most coveted properties among our villas with a pool. A great opportunity for a holiday in Sardinia to relax and have some fun. To request a quotation is extremely easy: Contact us via phone, website (also via Whatsapp or e-mail) and tell us when and how many guests your villa can host.
